Shloka 40
यर्थर्तष्वृतुलिड्रानि नानारूपाणि पर्यये । दृश्यन्ते तानि तान्येव तथा ब्रह्महरादिषु,जैसे वसन््त आदि ऋतुओंमें फूल और फल आदि नाना प्रकारके ऋतुचिह्न दृष्टिगोचर होते हैं और भिन्न ऋतुओंमें उन चिह्नोंका दर्शन नहीं होता, उसी प्रकार ब्रह्मा, विष्णु और महेश्वरमें भी सृष्टि, रक्षा और संहारकी शक्तियाँ कभी न्यून और कभी अधिक दिखायी देती हैं
yathārtuṣu ṛtuliṅgāni nānārūpāṇi paryaye dṛśyante tāni tānyeva tathā brahma-harādiṣu
Vyāsa said: “Just as, in the cycle of seasons, the distinctive signs of each season—appearing in many forms—are seen only in their proper turn and are not perceived in other seasons, so too among Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Hara the powers of creation, preservation, and dissolution appear at times diminished and at times increased.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cosmic functions are cyclic and context-dependent: creation, preservation, and dissolution do not appear uniformly at all times, but manifest in varying degrees—like seasonal signs that arise only in their proper season. This supports a view of coordinated divine governance rather than rigid separation or contradiction among deities.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vyāsa explains a metaphysical point using a natural analogy: just as different seasons display different observable markers in sequence, so the divine powers associated with Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Hara become prominent or recessive according to the cosmic order.